By SUZANNE DOWNING
July 25, 2026 – My great-great-uncle was Gov. Peter Hardeman Burnett, the first governor of the Territory of California and the state of California.
Peter Burnett, for whom my brother is named, led a wagon train from Independence, Missouri to Oregon in 1843 and became part of the pioneer generation that helped settle the Oregon Country, which became the Oregon Territory. He farmed and had business ventures, some that failed. And he became Supreme Judge of the Provisional Government of Oregon.
He then led a wagon train from the north down to California, as an early leader in the California Gold Rush. He was elected governor in 1849, before California was formally admitted to the Union, and served as its first governor after statehood.
I am a descendant of that Burnett pioneer family. It is part of my biography and my family history. My maiden name is Burnett. My family came to Alaska when my own father headed north in search for gold 10 years after statehood, very much in the vein of his family history of pushing to new frontiers.
According to a peculiar standard now being applied to candidate for governor Bernadette Wilson, however, perhaps I should never mention it.
Four members of the Hickel family have written a letter objecting to Wilson referring to her great-uncle, former Alaska Gov. Walter J. “Wally” Hickel, while introducing herself to voters.
They sent the letter to political writer Jeff Landfield, who posted it on social media for the world to see. From there, Republicans supporting other candidates eagerly circulated it. Viciously circulated it. Even two of Wilson’s Republican competitors joined in, apparently hoping the letter would diminish her candidacy.
All of this is meant to shame Wilson into removing Wally Hickel from her own family story.
What a strange place politics has taken us.
Wally Hickel is not an obscure name that Wilson pulled out of an old genealogy book. He served twice as governor of Alaska and served as secretary of the Interior under President Richard Nixon. He was a builder, a statehood advocate, a resource-development visionary and one of the most consequential figures in Alaska history.
He was also Bernadette Wilson’s great-uncle. She knew him.
That is a biological and historical fact. A scathing political letter leaked to social media cannot alter a family tree.
Candidates routinely tell voters where they came from, who influenced them and which parts of their upbringing shaped their beliefs. Remember “The Man From Hope,” Bill Clinton? Remember “Dreams From My Father” Barack Obama? Describing family lineage is especially true for candidates who have not previously held public office and who are introducing themselves to voters for the first time.
Is she now supposed to pretend one side of her family does not exist because a few relatives support someone else? (Also strange that one of the letter signers had contributed $500 to her campaign. Just odd.)
Wilson’s campaign biography refers to her grandmother, who was born in Naknek, as well her great-uncle Wally Hickel. Both are part of her Alaska story.
She is Alaska Native through her grandmother’s side and is a member of a federally recognized tribe. Her Native lineage reaches back thousands of years in Alaska. If elected, she will be the first Alaska Native to serve as governor.
May she refer to that heritage, or must she first secure the political approval of every distant cousin?
The entire premise is absurd.
Families disagree about politics. Sometimes they disagree bitterly.
Look at Alaska Congressman Nick Begich. He is a Republican from a family famous for producing Democrats. His uncle Tom Begich is now running for governor as a Democrat and may well advance to the general election, where he will face Bernadette Wilson. Nick’s uncles Tom and Mark Begich have supported Democrats running against him, including Mary Peltola. They’ll oppose Bernadette, while it’s likely Nick will support her.
Nobody claims that Tom Begich may speak about his father, the late Congressman Nick Begich, but his Republican nephew may not speak about his grandfather.
The family history belongs to all of them, even when their politics diverge.
President Donald Trump’s niece Mary Trump has made a public career out of savaging her uncle. Her attacks do not erase the family relationship. They merely demonstrate that political and personal disagreements can exist within even the most famous families.
Wilson responded to the Hickel letter in a video released Saturday, and she did so with more grace than many people would have managed under the circumstances. More grace than I would have mustered, that is for certain.
Sitting with books about her great-uncle, including one containing a personal inscription to her, Wilson did not strike back at her relatives. She did not question their motives or deny them the right to disagree with her. Instead, she made the larger and more important point: Alaska’s history does not belong exclusively to one family, one individual or one political campaign.
It belongs to Alaska. Here’s the video on X:
Yup, that's what I said – and you can quote me on that!#BernadetteForGovernor#MikeShower pic.twitter.com/kQmDI9Erb5
— Bernadette Wilson (@Bernadette4Gov) July 25, 2026
Wilson spoke about learning from the state’s past visionaries and using their ideas to find a pathway forward. She concluded by encouraging Alaskans to cherish the state’s history.
It was a composed and gracious answer to an attack that was designed to be personal and humiliating.
There have been some savage attacks on Wilson from one particular Republican candidate and a handful of that candidate’s supporters. The intensity says more about those making the attacks than it does about Wilson.
This kind of red-on-red political violence is particularly sad when it comes from campaigns trailing far behind. Instead of making a compelling case for their own candidates, some supporters have decided the better strategy is to tear apart the leading Republican’s biography and weaponize divisions within her family.
Families are complicated. Politics makes them more so. The Hickel relatives who signed the letter are entitled to support another candidate, just as Wilson is entitled to run for governor and tell voters who she is.
They are also entitled to disagree about what Wally Hickel might think of today’s candidates. None of us can know with certainty what a man who died in 2010 would say about the political landscape of 2026.
But nobody gets to tell Bernadette Wilson that Wally Hickel was not her great-uncle or that she must erase him from her life story.
She is a Hickel. That is not a campaign slogan. It is her family lineage. If only we all had families that could leave such strong legacies!
And if anyone wonders which Republican candidate is leading this race, watch where the attacks are going. Candidates at the back of the pack don’t attract this kind of coordinated attention.
The arrows are generally aimed at the one out front.
Suzanne Downing is the founder and editor of The Alaska Story and is a longtime Alaskan who was born on the wild Oregon coast.
One thought on “Suzanne Downing: You can tell who the leading Republican candidate is for governor by the attacks”
Composed and graceful response to what I am sure was a painful public drubbing by members of her own family. Suzanne is right red on red political attacks are both self inflicted gunshot wounds and unnecessary. Any Republican candidate will be better for this state than any Democrat. Ms. Wilson gained my respect with her class and dignity of her response. We have to do better because while no Republican is perfect, the other side is crazy.